Indispensable for readers of Alaska Native and American Indian literatures.

Shari Huhndorf, University of Oregon

Words of the Real People collects the life stories, poetry, and oral literature of Alaska's Native speakers of Yupik, Inupiaq, and Alutiiq. This anthology, edited by anthropologist Ann Fienup-Riordan and linguist Lawrence Kaplan, includes ancient tales passed down for generations as well as new traditions that Alaska Natives are creating for the twenty-first century.

Accompanied by background essays on each Native group, the literature in this collection embraces Native Alaskan life in its richest forms. From tales of malevolent shamans to the poetry of the urban experience, Words of the Real People is a critical contribution to Alaska Native literature.